With three of the four band members writing songs the group has never been short of material. Onanon sets cover a diverse range from sweet gentle pop to psychotic noise-fests. Songs such as “Hit & Run”, “Your Days Are Numbered” and “Bugged” have become genuine bNet radio station hits. Their live set tetters from near-total chaos to tight, infections pop, and their song-writing abilities continue to evolve in surprising new directions.
Onanon are fiercely independent, producing and releasing their own material themselves in true indie-rock fashion on their own record label, Madfishwish. Quite frankly, they wouldn’t have it any other way. The DIY attitude extends to their visual presentation. Guitarists Glen Ross and Donald Ferns are professional graphic artists by trade and have contributed their uniquely warped visions to the band’s posters, CD covers and music videos. Glen Ross hand-drew the bent comic cover art that adorns their latest album, “Home Baking”. Ferns single-handedly digitally modelled & animated the one-way jolly trip to Hell that is the video for “Your Days are Numbered”. Another music video directed by Ferns for Dunedin band Haunted Love for their song librarian has become an internet phenomenon, ranking over 100, 000 plays on Youtube, becoming a firm favourite within the global librarian community, winning awards and screening at international film festivals.
Another highlight for Onanon was performing at the prestigious Resound in 2007, a concert celebrating the legacy and future of Dunedin’s rich musical heritage. Onanon performed in the iconic Regent Theatre to a near-capacity crowd during the Dunedin Heritage festival, alongside legends of Dunedin rock such as the Clean, Chills, and Sneaky Feelings and contemporary acts from the city’s current scene. During Waitangi weekend 2008 Onanon performed in a completely different setting at Camp A Low Hum, at the gorgeous Tatum Park near Levin, alongside a selection of the best new underground acts from New Zealand and around the world. Not used to the northern heat, and overcome by the heady camp atmosphere, some members of this Southern band had no choice but to perform in shorts, unprecedented onstage couture for this Southern-most of bands!
Onanon’s latest release is “Home Baking”, released on CD and LP by new Dunedin record label Monkey Killer Records and via I Am Evil Records. “Lammerlaw”, an instrumental track from “Licking the Bowl”, is already a chart topper, going straight to number 1 on BNet station Radio One’s Top 11 (March 4 & 12 2008). A video for “Seacliff”, a psychotically mind melting ode to insanity, has just been finished and you can watch it below. Shot one crazy night at the historic Chicks Hotel in Port Chalmers it is just as mind blowing as the song itself.